Cover hoods for frying and cooking utensils, for example, pots, kettles, pans, or the like, serve to protect the cooking or frying area from fat splashes and to increase the temperature on the upper side of the food being prepared in order to reduce the cooking time and the amount of energy to be used for frying or cooking.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,627,099 describes a cover hood for frying pans where a toroidal collar part which is provided with a handle is placed on the frying pan. The collar part consists of two concentric cylindrical sheet metal walls which are offset vertically from each other wherein the inner cylindrical metal wall is arranged underneath the outer cylindrical wall. From the lower edge of the outer cylindrical wall a radial base leads to the inner cylindrical wall so that a circumferential channel is formed between the two walls. A conical hood part which is closed at the top is insertable from above into the collar part. The outer diameter of the hood part is the same as the inner diameter of the outer cylindrical wall and rests on three inwardly directed lugs spaced over the circumference of the outer cylindrical wall.
A disadvantage with this known cover hood is that the closed conical hood part fits sealingly on the collar part and this in turn fits tightly on the frying pan so that the pan is closed at the top. Although no fat splashes can pass to the outside and underneath the hood and there is an increased temperature, steam formed by the water emerging from the food is trapped under the cover hood which changes the consistency of the food and impairs the taste of the food.
German Patent No. 35 05 630 Cl describes a cover hood for frying and cooking equipment which has a hood part conical in section and able to fit loosely in a toroidal collar seated on the cooking or frying pan. The collar is provided on its outside with a raised edge and on its lower side with a channel. The tip of the hood part has an opening and the hood part is held vertically spaced above the channel and laterally spaced next to the raised edge. As a result of the ring-shaped gap formed therebetween, air can pass underneath the cover hood, be mixed with the water vapor underneath the hood and then escape through the opening at the tip of the cover hood.
Since the collar of the known cover hood is provided on its underside with a downwardly and inwardly tapering inclined base, the collar can be placed on pans or pots of different diameter as a result of its conical base.
A disadvantage with this known cover hood is the expensive construction, more particularly of the toroidal collar as well as the loose connection between the conical hood part and the toroidal collar which leads to problems with the storage of the hood, difficult handling, and possibly to damage of the conical hood part which normally consists of glass. Owing to its restricted length, the inwardly tapering inclined base of the collar makes the hood suitable only for frying and cooking utensils with only slightly deviating diameters wherein when used for pans with large diameters there is the danger that the inclined base rests on the food being cooked.